Jimmy Adams will receive his company’s Family-Owned Business Award from Terri Denison, SBA Georgia District Director, at an Atlanta luncheon in late spring hosted by the Georgia Lenders Quality Circle. The company was nominated for the statewide award by the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce. 

The SBA Award recognizes a family-owned business with outstanding growth in sales and profits as well as one that provides employment opportunities for both family and non-family employees. The award also goes to a company that shows potential for long-term business growth while providing voluntary community services.

Adams Transfer and Storage (ATS) has been a cornerstone of the Gainesville-Hall County business community since R.E. Adams opened the Gainesville office in 1949. In 1958, ATS served a vital role in the creation of Lake Lanier, one of Hall County’s most important economic resources. The company was responsible for moving houses, household goods and livestock to prepare for the flooding of land for the lake.

A Gainesville native, Jimmy Adams’ drive and dedication to his family were witnessed at an early age. In 1981, his father, R.E. Adams, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while Jimmy Adams was a student at the University of Georgia. The young Adams took over management of his father’s Athens and Gainesville offices while completing his courses for a BBA in Transportation/Physical Distribution at UGA in 1983.   

After college, Adams realized the moving business suffered from seasonal ups and downs. To help correct the problem, he started a new company division, Georgia Data Storage in Gainesville. In 2002 the company, now known as Adams Data Management, relocated to Atlanta and started to target potential customers outside of Georgia. Today, the company has a state-of-the-art Firelock vault for data tape and media storage.

In 1988, Adams led the development and became President of the Adams Companies which is active in industrial property acquisitions. Currently, the company has 13 properties in the Atlanta and Gainesville area with some 1.7 million square feet of commercial and industrial space. In 1993, the company restored the historic Gainesville Mill, a 400,000 square foot, turn-of-the-century textile factory in downtown Gainesville.

Over the past five years, Adams Transfer and Storage has posted a 20 percent increase in profits and a 24 percent increase in assets. The combined offices in Gainesville and Atlanta have employed a consistent 76 people over the same period.

A number of awards have gone to both Jimmy Adams and his family-owned company. Adams Transfer and Storage was named the Cox 2003 Family Business of the Year, an award initiated by Kennesaw University’s Cox Family Enterprise Center. And in 1995, the Gainesville Jaycees recognized Jimmy Adams as the Young Man of the Year.

Adams is active with a number of community organizations. He served as 20006-2007 Chairman of the Greater Hall Chamber; State Host for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Red Carpet Economic Development Tour from 1996-1998; and Chairman of the Gainesville-Hall County Economic Development Council. He is also on the boards of Regions Bank of Gainesville; Georgia Chamber of Commerce; Gainesville Rotary Club, and the American Cancer Society.

“Jimmy Adams has been a constant servant to our community, as well as a leader in our business environment,” said Kathryn Dunlap, President of the Greater Hall Chamber in her nomination letter. “Adams Transfer and Storage has a long history of strong leadership, and its legacy is continued and increased each day with Jimmy Adams at the helm.”